1. Technical Field
The invention relates to a system for supplying production machines associated with the production of cigarette packs, in particular packaging machines, with consumable material, in particular with webs of paper, thin cardboard, film or tinfoil which are wound in the form of reels, it being the case that the reels are kept on pallets within a portal which has upright supports and a top, essentially horizontal carrying frame and forms part of a material store, and a respective reel can be fed by a robot, which is connected to the portal and has a lifting head, to a respective one of a plurality of winding subassemblies with operating spindles for receiving a respective reel. The invention also relates to an apparatus for transferring the reels from the robot to an operating spindle of a winding subassembly. In addition, the invention relates to a special lifting head for gripping and transporting reels.
2. Related Art
High-performance installations for the production of cigarette packs or similar complex packs comprising a plurality of blanks have an (interim) store in which is kept packaging material for a number of consuming machines, in particular packaging machines. The store is defined by an elongate, rectangular portal having upright supports and a top, horizontal carrying frame. The reels are positioned on pallets within the portal. A (portal) robot with a lifting head for gripping a respective reel can be displaced within the portal for the purpose of receiving a reel and transferring it to a winding subassembly. A plurality of winding subassemblies are arranged within the portal (DE 40 18 266). In the region of the winding subassemblies, the different webs of packaging material are drawn off from the reels and fed to the machines in a direction transverse to the longitudinal extent of the portal. The lifting head of the robot has a transporting spindle which, for the purpose of gripping a reel, is anchored in the central opening of the latter.
It is also known for a reel transported by an overhead conveyor to be transported to a pivotable operating spindle of a packaging machine in an upright position with the aid of a flanged wheel which can be displaced longitudinally on the operating spindle (DE 42 21 052). In the upright position of the operating spindle, the flanged wheel is moved into a top end position. The reel, which is retained on a transporting spindle of the overhead conveyor, is released onto the operating spindle in an axially aligned manner and passes onto the flanged wheel by way of downward movement. The flanged wheel is then moved downward into an operating position, the reel being carried along in the process. Thereafter, the operating spindle is moved into the horizontal position.